Decorative elements provided with a curled or crimped configuration at point of sale or point of use

ABSTRACT

Decorative grass and methods of providing same are disclosed wherein the decorative grass is either maintained in a flattened configuration until restraint is removed and/or the decorative grass is curled and/or crimped at a point of use and/or sale.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCESTATEMENT

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 13/483,203, filedMay 30, 2012; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 13/274,454, filedOct. 17, 2011, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.13/036,426, filed Feb. 28, 2011, now abandoned; which is a continuationof U.S. Ser. No. 11/929,977, filed Oct. 30, 2007, now abandoned; whichis a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/247,426, filed Oct. 11, 2005, nowabandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/263,059,filed Oct. 1, 2002, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser.No. 09/799,980, filed Mar. 6, 2001, now abandoned. U.S. Ser. No.10/263,059 is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/068,241,filed Feb. 6, 2002, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser.No. 09/538,412, filed Mar. 29, 2000, now abandoned; which is acontinuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/226,321, filed Jan. 6, 1999, nowabandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/796,182, filedFeb. 7, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,286, issued Apr. 6, 1999. Theentire contents of each of the above-referenced patents and patentapplications are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Decorative grass has been used for many years in Easter baskets and forother decorative purposes. The decorative grass of the prior art hasbeen produced by numerous methods and from a variety of materials suchas polymeric materials, paper or the like. Typically, such materials arecut and shredded to produce segments having predetermined dimensions.One such prior art method for making decorative grass is disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 4,292,266, issued to Weder et al. on Sep. 29, 1981,wherein a plastic film is extruded and cut into plastic strips which arepassed through a slow-speed godet, an oven and a high-speed godet sothat the strips are drawn down in width and thickness without breaking.From the high-speed godet, the strips or strands are chopped to adesired length and conveyed to a storage area for subsequent bagging andpackaging.

Traditionally, the decorative grasses are provided as individual,unattached segments of decorative grass. Such segments of decorativegrass may be provided with certain conformations which provide volumeand bulk to the packaging. For example, U.S. Ser. No. 09/586,901,entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING CURLED DECORATIVE GRASS”,which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference, discloses amethod of providing curled configurations to decorative grass to provideimproved bulk and volume to the decorative grass.

While the prior art methods for making decorative grass have been widelyaccepted, new and improved methods for making, packaging, storing,shipping and displaying decorative grasses are being sought. It is tosuch decorative grasses and methods for producing same that thepresently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) is directed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet or web of laminated materialconstructed in accordance with the presently disclosed and claimedinventive concept(s), the sheet or web of laminated material having adistortion set therein.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first sheet or web of material and asecond sheet or web of material from which the sheet or web of laminatedmaterial of FIG. 1 is constructed, the first sheet or web of materialbeing provided with a length which is less than a length of the secondsheet or web of material.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first and second sheets or webs ofmaterial of FIG. 2 wherein the length of the first sheet or web ofmaterial has been stretched so that such length is the same as thelength of the second sheet or web of material.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a sheet or web of laminated materialhaving a substantially flat configuration.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the sheet or web of laminated materialof FIG. 4 wherein the sheet or web of laminated material is curled.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the sheet or web of laminated materialof FIG. 4 wherein the sheet or web of laminated material is crimped.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a sheet or web of laminated materialconstructed in accordance with the presently disclosed and claimedinventive concept(s), the sheet or web of laminated material constructedfrom a sheet or web of material having a substantially flatconfiguration and a sheet or web of heat shrinkable material.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the sheet or web of laminated materialof FIG. 7 wherein the sheet or web of laminated material has beenexposed to heat.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a sheet or web of laminated materialconstructed in accordance with the presently disclosed and claimedinventive concept(s), the sheet or web of laminated material formed of asheet or web of material having a substantially flat configuration and asheet or web of material having a hygroscopic agent disposed thereon.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the sheet or web of laminated materialof FIG. 9 wherein the sheet or web of laminated material has beenexposed to moisture.

FIG. 11 is a schematic representation of a system for producingdecorative grass in accordance with the presently disclosed and claimedinventive concept(s).

FIG. 11A is a schematic representation of a first set of blades and asecond set of blades of the system for producing decorative grass ofFIG. 11.

FIG. 12 is a schematic representation of another embodiment of a systemfor producing decorative grass in accordance with the presentlydisclosed and claimed inventive concept(s).

FIG. 12A is a schematic representation of a first set of blades and asecond set of blades of the system for producing decorative grass ofFIG. 12, wherein the first set of blades may disengage the second set ofblades.

FIG. 12B is a perspective view of strands of decorative grass producedfrom the system for producing decorative grass of FIG. 12 wherein thestrands of decorative grass are connected to a header.

FIG. 13 is a schematic representation of another embodiment of a systemfor producing decorative grass in accordance with the presentlydisclosed and claimed inventive concept(s).

FIG. 13A is a schematic representation of a first set of blades and asecond set of blades of the system for producing decorative grass ofFIG. 13.

FIG. 14 is a schematic representation of yet another embodiment of asystem for producing decorative grass in accordance with the presentlydisclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) wherein a first set of bladesof the system for producing decorative grass are provided with a radiusnotch.

FIG. 14A is a schematic representation of the first set of blades and asecond set of blades of the system for producing decorative grass ofFIG. 14.

FIG. 14B is a perspective view of strands of decorative grass producedfrom the system for producing decorative grass of FIG. 14 wherein thestrands of decorative grass are connected to a header.

FIG. 15 is a schematic representation of the system for producingdecorative grass of FIG. 14 wherein the radius notch of the first set ofblades is partially in contact with the second set of blades.

FIG. 16 is a schematic representation of the system for producingdecorative grass of FIG. 14 wherein the radius notch of the first set ofblades is in contact with the second set of blades.

FIG. 17 is a schematic representation of the system for producingdecorative grass of FIG. 14 wherein the radius notch of the first set ofblades is partially in contact with the second set of blades.

FIG. 18 is a schematic representation of the system for producingdecorative grass of FIG. 14 wherein a small portion of the radius notchof the first set of blades is in contact with the second set of blades.

FIG. 19 is a schematic representation of the system for producingdecorative grass of FIG. 14 wherein the radius notch of the first set ofblades is not in contact with the second set of blades.

FIG. 20 is a schematic representation of yet another system forproducing decorative grass in accordance with the presently disclosedand claimed inventive concept(s).

FIG. 20A is a schematic representation of a set of blades disposed on ablade mandrel and in contact with a hardened mandrel of the system forproducing decorative grass of FIG. 20.

FIG. 21 is another embodiment of a system for producing decorative grassin accordance with the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s).

FIG. 21A is a schematic representation of a set of blades disposed on ablade mandrel and in contact with a hardened mandrel of the system forproducing decorative grass of FIG. 21, wherein the blade mandrel may beraised such that the set of blades are disengaged from the hardenedmandrel.

FIG. 21B is a perspective view of strands of decorative grass producedfrom the system for producing decorative grass of FIG. 21 wherein thestrands of decorative grass are connected to a header.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a pair of crosslaid layers of curlablesegments of decorative grass wherein the curlable segments are connectedto a header.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a pair of crosslaid layers of curledsegments of decorative grass wherein the curled segments are connectedto a header.

FIG. 24 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a package containinga plurality of sheets of curlable material, the sheets containing aplurality of segments connected to a header and the package having acurling tool connected thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the presently disclosed andclaimed inventive concept(s) in detail, it is to be understood that thepresently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) is not limited inits application to the details of construction and the arrangement ofthe components or steps or methodologies set forth in the followingdescription or illustrated in the drawings. The presently disclosed andclaimed inventive concept(s) is capable of other embodiments or of beingpracticed or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understoodthat the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purposeof description and should not be regarded as limiting.

Unless otherwise defined herein, technical terms used in connection withthe presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) shall have themeanings that are commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in theart. Further, unless otherwise required by context, singular terms shallinclude pluralities and plural terms shall include the singular. Allpatents, published patent applications, and non-patent publicationsmentioned in the specification are indicative of the level of skill ofthose skilled in the art to which this presently disclosed and claimedinventive concept(s) pertains. All patents, published patentapplications, and non-patent publications referenced in any portion ofthis application are herein expressly incorporated by reference in theirentirety to the same extent as if each individual patent or publicationwas specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated byreference.

All of the articles and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein can bemade and executed without undue experimentation in light of the presentdisclosure. While the articles and methods of the presently disclosedand claimed inventive concept(s) have been described in terms ofparticular embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the artthat variations may be applied to the articles and/or methods and in thesteps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein withoutdeparting from the concept, spirit and scope of the presently disclosedand claimed inventive concept(s). All such similar substitutes andmodifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to bewithin the spirit, scope and concept of the presently disclosed andclaimed inventive concept(s) as defined by the appended claims.

As utilized in accordance with the present disclosure, the followingterms, unless otherwise indicated, shall be understood to have thefollowing meanings:

The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term“comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one,” butit is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,”and “one or more than one.” The use of the term “or” in the claims isused to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer toalternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, althoughthe disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternativesand “and/or.” Throughout this application, the term “about” is used toindicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for thedevice, the method being employed to determine the value, or thevariation that exists among the study subjects. For example but not byway of limitation, when the term “about” is utilized, the designatedvalue may vary by plus or minus twelve percent, or eleven percent, orten percent, or nine percent, or eight percent, or seven percent, or sixpercent, or five percent, or four percent, or three percent, or twopercent, or one percent. The use of the term “at least one” will beunderstood to include one as well as any quantity more than one,including but not limited to, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100,etc. The term “at least one” may extend up to 100 or 1000 or more,depending on the term to which it is attached; in addition, thequantities of 100/1000 are not to be considered limiting, as higherlimits may also produce satisfactory results. In addition, the use ofthe term “at least one of X, Y and Z” will be understood to include Xalone, Y alone, and Z alone, as well as any combination of X, Y and Z.The use of ordinal number terminology (i.e., “first,” “second,” “third,”“fourth,” etc.) is solely for the purpose of differentiating between twoor more items and is not meant to imply any sequence or order orimportance to one item over another or any order of addition, forexample.

As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (andany form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having”(and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and anyform of including, such as “includes” and “include”) or “containing”(and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) areinclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecitedelements or method steps.

The term “or combinations thereof” as used herein refers to allpermutations and combinations of the listed items preceding the term.For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to includeat least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is importantin a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB.Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations thatcontain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, AAB, BBC,AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. The skilled artisan willunderstand that typically there is no limit on the number of items orterms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context.

As used herein, the term “substantially” means that the subsequentlydescribed event or circumstance completely occurs or that thesubsequently described event or circumstance occurs to a great extent ordegree. For example, the term “substantially” means that thesubsequently described event or circumstance occurs at least 90% of thetime, or at least 95% of the time, or at least 98% of the time.

The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) relates todecorative grasses and methods for producing same. Broadly, thepresently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) relates todecorative grasses produced in a substantially flat configuration which,upon activation, can assume a curled or crimped configuration, such asat the point of sale or point of use, as well as improved methods ofpackaging, storing, shipping and displaying such decorative grasses.Such decorative grasses can also be utilized for non-decorativepurposes, such as packing material, animal bedding, cat litter, mulchfor soil, and media for plants. In addition, the presently disclosed andclaimed inventive concept(s) also relates to decorative elements, suchas glitter, which are produced in a similar manner and which can beactivated to assume a three-dimensional configuration, as well asmethods for producing same.

An object of the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) isto provide a decorative grass having a substantially flat configurationwhich can be curled or crimped at a point of sale or point of use.

Another object of the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s), while achieving the before-stated object, is to provide amethod for producing a decorative grass having a substantially flatconfiguration which can be curled or crimped at a point of sale or pointof use.

Yet another object of the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s), while achieving the before-stated objects, is to provide amethod for producing decorative elements having a substantially flatconfiguration which can be activated to assume a three-dimensionalconfiguration.

Other objects, features and advantages of the presently disclosed andclaimed inventive concept(s) will become apparent from the followingdetailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings and appended claims.

The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) relates to adecorative grass having an activatable curling agent. Such decorativegrass is produced by cutting or shredding a sheet or web of materialhaving the activatable curling agent disposed thereon or incorporatedtherein. Individual strands of decorative grass produced therefrom areprovided with a substantially flat configuration, and the strands ofdecorative grass will remain flat until heated, wetted, treated with asolvent, or other methods known in the art to activate the curling agentand thereby produce curls in the strands of decorative grass.Optionally, upon activation, the strands of decorative grass may beprovided with crimps or a combination of crimps and curls, depending onthe distribution of activatable curling agent on the strands ofdecorative grass. Such decorative grass could be shipped and stored in aflattened condition and curled at or near the point of use so as toreduce freight costs, warehousing space and shelf space in a retailoutlet.

The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) also relates todecorative grass which is produced with a curled or crimpedconfiguration and retained in the flattened form at the productionstage, as well as decorative grass allowed to curl at the productionstage and re-flattened following production. Such decorative grass isthen stored, shipped and displayed in the flattened form with thedecorative grass being released to curl or crimp at or near the point ofuse. The curl or crimp could be retained in the flattened form byputting the decorative grass or the sheet or web of material from whichthe decorative grass is produced in a bag or other package of sufficientrigidity to prevent the material from curling or crimping. Optionally,the sheet or web of material or the decorative grass formed therefrommay be wound onto a roll. In a further alternative, the individualsegments or strands of decorative grass may remain attached to anattachment area or header and the attachment area or header may beformed of another piece of material or to a dissimilar material such ascardboard, and the decorative grass may be retained in the flattenedform by holding the attachment area or header with staples, adhesive,clips or other materials. For example, strands of decorative grass whichhave already been stretched so as to enable their curling when tensionis released may be wrapped around a flat piece of plastic or cardboardso as to keep them in the flattened condition during storage andshipping. Such decorative grass may be released and allowed to curl orcrimp at the point of sale or point of use by cutting or tearing thestrands or segments of decorative grass from the attachment area orheader or by simply freeing the attachment area or header from the rigidpackage and allowing the grass to curl or crimp while remaining attachedat one or more attachment areas or headers. The attachment areas orheaders provide an additional advantage in that they keep the strands orsegments of decorative grass together in a neat bundle which providesfor a decorative appearance but which also provide a cushioning effectso as to prevent damage to contents of baskets or boxes or otherpackages while avoiding the problem of having to clean up spilledstrands of decorative grass.

The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) also relates toan assembly and method for producing curled decorative grass at or nearthe point of use and/or sale of the curled decorative grass. To providea curled or crimped decorative grass at or near a point of use or sale,at least one sheet or web of material is provided at or near the pointof sale, the at least one sheet or web of material capable of having acurled imparted thereto. A curl or crimp is formed in the at least onesheet or web of material at or near the point of sale or use to form adistortion therein. The distorted sheet or web of material is then cutinto strands of decorative grass at or near the point of sale or use ofthe decorative grass.

Another method of providing a decorative grass at or near the point ofuse or sale is to provide at least one curled sheet or web of materialat or near a point of sale or use. Pressure is maintained on the atleast one curled sheet or web of material so that the curled sheet orweb of material is maintained in a substantially flat configuration.While maintained in the substantially flat configuration the curledsheet or web of material is cut into strands of decorative grass at ornear the point of sale or use. If desired, the curled sheet or web ofmaterial can maintained in a non-flattened condition at or near thepoint of sale in which case the curled sheet or web of material is cutinto strands at or near the point of use or sale while in thenon-flattened condition.

As previously stated, the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s) also relates to an assembly for producing curled decorativegrass at or near a point of use or sale. The assembly includes anenclosure containing a plurality of sheets or web of material capable ofhaving a curl imparted thereto. The enclosure is provided with anopening for permitting removal of at least one sheet at a time or atleast a portion of the web of material from the enclosure. The enclosureis positioned at or near a point of sale or use of the curl ofdecorative grass. A curling tool capable of imparting a curl to thesheet or at least a portion of the web of material is also provided suchthat when at least one of the sheets or at least a portion of the web ofmaterial is withdrawn from the enclosure and brought into contact withthe curling tool, a curled sheet of material or curled web of materialis produced at or near the point of sale or use of decorative grass.Thereafter, the curled sheets or the curled web of material are cut toprovide decorative grass at or near the point of sale or use of thedecorative grass with a cutting tool.

If desired, the sheets of material can be provided with a plurality ofsegments which are connected to a header. The sheets of material, oncecurled, can then be separated, if desired, by cutting the segments offthe header. Further, it should be noted that the sheets of materialand/or web of material can already have a curl imparted thereto, and ifthe sheets of material are provided with a plurality of side by sidesegments, such side by side segments may be connected to a header whichcan be removed at or near the point of sale or use of the decorativegrass.

Description of FIGS. 1-3

Referring now to the Drawings, shown in FIG. 1 is a sheet or web oflaminated material 10 from which decorative grass can be produced inaccordance with the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s), the sheet or web of laminated material 10 having adistortion set therein. The distortion is illustrated as being a curl;however, it should be understood that the distortion may also be atleast one crimp, as will be described in more detail hereinafter. Thesheet or web of laminated material 10 is formed of a first sheet or webof material 12 and a second sheet or web of material 14. The sheet orweb of laminated material 10 has an upper surface 16, a lower surface18, a length 20 and a width 22.

Any sheet or web of material capable of being laminated to another sheetor web of material and capable of having a curl or crimp impartedthereto can be employed as the sheets or webs of material 12 and 14.However, desirable results can be achieved wherein the sheets or webs ofmaterial 12 and 14 are constructed from materials selected from thegroup consisting of paper, crepe paper, polymeric film, wax paper, paperhaving a shape sustaining agent or lacquer applied to at least a portionof one surface thereof, foil, metallized film, cloth, burlap, and anycombination or lamination thereof. The sheets or webs of material 12 and14 may be provided with any thickness, as long as the sheets or webs ofmaterial 12 and 14 can function in accordance with the presentlydisclosed and claimed inventive concept(s). Desirably, each of thesheets or webs of material 12 and 14 are provided with a thickness in arange of from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mil.

At least one of the sheets or webs of material 12 and 14 may be providedwith a printed pattern and/or an embossed pattern disposed on at least aportion of one surface thereof, and the embossed pattern may be eitherin register or out of register with the printed pattern, or a portion ofthe embossed pattern may be in register with the printed pattern and aportion of the embossed pattern may be out of register with the printedpattern. The sheets or webs of material 12 and 14 may also vary incolor.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first sheet or web of material 12 of thesheet or web of laminated material 10 is provided with an upper surface24, a lower surface 26, a length 28 and a width 30. The second sheet orweb of material 14 of the sheet or web of laminated material 10 isprovided with an upper surface 32, a lower surface 34, a length 36 and awidth 38. The first sheet or web of material 12 is provided with adimension which is less than the associated dimension of the secondsheet or web of material 14; that is, the width 30 of the first sheet orweb of material 12 may be less than the width 38 of the second sheet orweb of material 14, or the length 28 of the first sheet or web ofmaterial 12 may be less than the length 36 of the second sheet or web ofmaterial 14. The first sheet or web of material 12 is thus stretched inone dimension to provide such dimension with the same size as theassociated dimension of the second sheet or web of material 14, and thenthe two sheets or webs of material 12 and 14 are laminated together. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 2, the length 28 of the first sheet or web ofmaterial 12 is less than the length 36 of the second sheet or web ofmaterial 14, and as shown in FIG. 3, the first sheet or web of material12 is stretched lengthwise so that the length 28 thereof issubstantially the same as the length 36 of the second sheet or web ofmaterial 14. Following stretching of the first sheet or web of material12, the two sheets or webs of material 12 and 14 are laminated togetherto form the sheet or web of laminated material 10, substantially asshown in FIG. 1. Following lamination, the length 28 of the first sheetor web of material 12 contracts back to its original size, therebycausing a curl to be formed in the length 20 of the sheet or web oflaminated material 10, as shown in FIG. 1. Decorative grass formed fromthe sheet or web of laminated material 10 shown in FIG. 1 will possess atorsion spring type curl if the sheet or web of laminated material 10 iscut in the direction of stretch, while the decorative grass will possessa helical spring curl if the sheet or web of laminated material 10 iscut at an angle to the direction of stretch. Such methods of providing apreset curl in a laminated material are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,891,286, entitled “METHODS OF FORMING CURLED OR CRIMPED DECORATIVEELEMENTS HAVING AN OPTICAL EFFECT,” issued to Weder on Apr. 6, 1999, theSpecification of which is hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

However, prior to allowing the sheet or web of laminated material 10 toassume a curled configuration, the substantially flat sheet or web oflaminated material 10 may be disposed in a bag or package of sufficientrigidity and size to retain the sheet or web of laminated material 10 ina substantially flat configuration, thus preventing the sheet or web oflaminated material 10 from curling. In addition, the sheet or web oflaminated material 10 may be provided in the form of a roll of material,and the process of winding the sheet or web of material 10 onto the rollwill provide sufficient pressure and rigidity to maintain the sheet orweb of laminated material 10 in a substantially flat configuration untila portion of the sheet or web of laminated material 10 is unwound fromthe roll, thereby allowing such portion to assume the distortedconfiguration, i.e., a curled configuration. The process of cutting orshredding the sheet or web of laminated material 10 to provide strandsof decorative grass will be discussed in detail herein after withregards to FIGS. 11-21B. In addition, the individual strands ofdecorative grass formed from the sheet or web of laminated material 10may be held together at attachment points, as will be discussed ingreater detail herein below, thereby providing easier manipulation ofthe strands of decorative grass, such as for placing between two piecesof cardboard or winding onto a roll.

Description of FIGS. 4-6

Shown in FIG. 4 is a sheet or web of laminated material 50 from whichdecorative grass may be produced in accordance with the presentlydisclosed and claimed inventive concept(s). The sheet or web oflaminated material 50 is similar to the sheet or web of laminatedmaterial 10 described in detail herein above, except the sheet or web oflaminated material 50 is produced in a substantially flat configurationand does not have a preset distortion therein. The sheet or web oflaminated material 50 may be curled or crimped by any method known inthe art before or after cutting or shredding the sheet or web oflaminated material to produce strands of decorative grass, as will bedescribed in detail hereinafter.

The sheet or web of laminated material 50 has an upper surface 52, alower surface 54, a length 56 and a width 58. The sheet or web oflaminated material 50 is formed of a first sheet or web of material 60and a second sheet or web of material 62. The sheets or webs of material60 and 62 may be constructed of the same materials and in a similarmanner as the sheets or webs of material 12 and 14.

Following lamination of the first sheet or web of material 60 to thesecond sheet or web of material 62 to form the sheet or web of laminatedmaterial 50, the sheet or web of laminated material 50 may be curled toprovide a curled sheet or web of laminated material 50 a, as shown inFIG. 5, or crimped to provide a crimped sheet or web of laminatedmaterial 50 b, as shown in FIG. 6. Methods and apparatus for providing asheet of material with a curl or a crimp are described in detail in U.S.Pat. No. 5,891,286, which has previously been incorporated herein byreference. However, the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s) is not limited to the use of such methods and apparatus, andany method known in the art for providing a curl or crimp to a sheet orweb of material may be utilized in accordance with the presentlydisclosed and claimed inventive concept(s).

Following production of the curled sheet or web of laminated material 50a or the crimped sheet or web of laminated material 50 b, such sheet orweb of laminated material 50 a or 50 b may be cut or shredded asdescribed hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 11-21B to form strands ofdecorative grass which are curled or crimped. However, the strands ofdecorative grass may be retained in a substantially flat configurationduring shipping and storage and may not assume the curled or crimpedconfiguration until at the point of sale or point of use. The sheet orweb of laminated material 50 may be provided with a curl or crimptherein as described above, and the curled sheet or web of laminatedmaterial 50 a or the crimped sheet or web of laminated material 50 b maybe maintained in the substantially flat configuration by placing suchsheet or web of laminated material 50 a or 50 b in a rigid, strainedconfiguration, such as by applying pressure thereto by placing suchsheet or web of laminated material 50 a or 50 b between two pieces ofcardboard or winding such sheet or web of laminated material 50 a or 50b onto a roll. Following shredding to form strands of decorative grass(as described herein below), the strands of decorative grass may be heldin a rigid, strained configuration in a similar fashion as describedabove with reference to the sheet or web of laminated material 10 havinga preset distortion therein of FIG. 1 to maintain the decorative grassin a substantially flat configuration until curling or crimping isdesired, such as at the point of sale or point of use. That is, thestrands of decorative grass formed from the curled sheet or web oflaminated material 50 a (FIG. 5) or the crimped sheet or web oflaminated material 50 b (FIG. 6) may be held in a substantially flatconfiguration by placing the strands of decorative grass between twopieces of cardboard or by winding the strands of decorative grass on aroll. When desired to provide curling or crimping to the strands ofdecorative grass, the strands of decorative grass are removed frombetween the two pieces of cardboard or upon unwinding of the strands ofdecorative grass, thereby releasing the tension and pressure placed onthe strands of decorative grass and providing a curled or crimpedconfiguration thereto. Individual strands of decorative grass formedfrom the curled or crimped sheets or webs of laminated material 50 a or50 b may be held together at attachment points, as will be discussed indetail herein below, thereby providing easier manipulation of thestrands of decorative grass, such as by placing same between two piecesor cardboard of winding onto a roll.

While the sheet or web of laminated material 50 used in the methodsdescribed herein before with reference to FIGS. 4-6 is laminated, it isto be understood that the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s) is not limited to the use of a laminated material in such amethod. That is, a sheet or web of unlamented material i.e., a singlesheet or web of material, may be utilized in a similar manner asdescribed hereinbefore with reference to FIGS. 4-6 whereby the sheet orweb of unlaminated material is curled or crimped and then cut orshredded to provide strands of decorative grass, and the sheet or web ofunlaminated material or the strands of decorative grass formed therefromare maintained in a substantially flat configuration until same arecurled and/or crimped. The sheet or web of unlaminated material may beprovided with a substantially flat configuration following curlingand/or crimping and prior to cutting or shredding to form decorativegrass, or the sheet or web of unlaminated material may maintain thecurled and/or crimped configuration, and following cutting or shreddingthereof to form strands of decorative grass, pressure may be applied totemporarily provide a substantially flat configuration to the strands ofdecorative grass which is maintained until curling and/or crimping isdesired, such as at the point of sale or point of use.

In addition, the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s)also includes a sheet or web of unlaminated material formed of two ormore sheets or webs of material which are unconnected. In this manner,the decorative grass is a mixture or two or more materials which arecomingled and have the same crimped and/or curled configuration.

Description of FIGS. 7-10

Shown in FIG. 7 is a sheet or web of laminated material 70 from whichdecorative grass can be produced in accordance with the presentlydisclosed and claimed inventive concept(s). The sheet or web oflaminated material 70 has an upper surface 72, a lower surface 74, alength 76 and a width 78.

The sheet or web of laminated material 70 includes a first sheet or webof material 80 and a second sheet or web of material 82. The secondsheet or web of material 82 is provided with a substantially flatconfiguration. The second sheet or web of material 82 may be constructedof any material capable of having another sheet or web of materiallaminated thereto and capable of functioning as described herein. Forexample, the second sheet or web of material 82 may be constructed frompaper, crepe paper, polymeric film, wax paper, paper having a shapesustaining agent or lacquer applied to at least a portion of one surfacethereof, foil, metallized film, cloth, burlap and any combination orlamination thereof.

The first sheet or web of material 80 is constructed of a material whichis provided with a substantially flat configuration, but which contractsor shrinks when exposed to a sufficient level of heat, while the secondsheet or web of material 82 does not react by shrinking when exposed tothe same temperature or sufficient level of heat as the first sheet orweb of material 80. That is, the first sheet or web of material 80shrinks at a lower temperature than the second sheet or web of material82, or the first and second sheets or webs of material 80 and 82 bothshrink in response to heat but at differential rates in the sametemperature range. In this manner, the sheet or web of laminatedmaterial 70 may be shredded or cut to produce decorative grass whereinthe individual strands of decorative grass are provided with asubstantially linear, flat configuration. The strands of decorativegrass may be packaged, stored, shipped and displayed in such asubstantially linear, flat configuration, allowing the consumer to curlthe decorative grass at the point of sale or use by heating the strandsof decorative grass, such as by exposure of the decorative grass to ahair dryer or an oven, or by placing same between two sheets ofcardboard in a microwave oven (so as to absorb the microwave energy). Inthis manner, the substantially flat, individual strands of decorativegrass are more easily separated by the consumer than strands ofdecorative grass having curled or crimped configurations which areintertwined in a cohesive mass. In addition, such method allows for easyremoval of a portion of the stands of decorative grass and easy storageof the remaining portion of the decorative grass for future use.However, it is to be understood that the presently disclosed and claimedinventive concept(s) is not limited to curling the decorative grass atthe point of sale or the point of use, and decorative grass formed asdescribed above may be curled at the point of production, if desired.

Optionally, the sheet or web of laminated material 70 may be curled byexposure to heat prior to cutting or shredding the sheet or web oflaminated material 70 to form decorative grass. Shown in FIG. 8 is thesheet or web of laminated material 70 which has been exposed to heat,and therefore a curl has been formed along the length 76 thereof.Following curling of the sheet or web of laminated material 70, thecurled sheet or web of laminated material 70 and/or the strands ofdecorative grass formed therefrom may be retained in a constrainedcondition as described in detail hereinabove which provides asubstantially flat configuration thereto until such constraints areremoved, thereby allowing the sheet or web of laminated material 70 orthe strands of decorative grass formed therefrom to assume the relaxed,curled configuration.

In addition, while it is described and illustrated herein that the sheetor web of laminated material 70, and therefore the strands of decorativegrass formed therefrom, is provided with a curl along the length 76thereof, it is to be understood that the sheet or web of laminatedmaterial 70, as well as the strands of decorative grass formedtherefrom, may be provided with a curl along the width 78 thereof, orthe curl may be disposed diagonally and span both the length 76 andwidth 78 thereof.

Such strands of decorative grass may also be attached to an attachmentpoint, as described in detail herein below. By providing an attachmentpoint of the same material or dissimilar material to the individualstrands of decorative grass, the strands of decorative grass can bemanipulated in an easier manner, by holding the individual strands ofdecorative grass in the same direction and in substantially the sameconfiguration and by preventing unwanted intertwining and comingling ofthe individual strands of decorative grass.

Other methods of providing the second sheet or web of material with asubstantially flat configuration which can be activated to form a curledor crimped configuration may be utilized. Shown in FIG. 9 is a sheet orweb of laminated material 90 from which decorative grass can be producedin accordance with the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s). The sheet or web of laminated material 90 has an uppersurface 92, a lower surface 94, a length 96 and a width 98.

The sheet or web of laminated material 90 includes a first sheet or webof material 100 and a second sheet or web of material 102. The firstsheet or web of material 100 has an upper surface 104 and a lowersurface 106 and is provided with a substantially flat configuration. Thesecond sheet or web of material 102 has an upper surface 108 and a lowersurface 110 and is also provided with a substantially flatconfiguration. At least a portion of the upper surface 108 of the secondsheet or web of material 102 is laminated to the lower surface 106 ofthe first sheet or web of material 100.

The second sheet or web of material 102 may be constructed of anymaterial capable of having another sheet or web of material laminatedthereto and capable of functioning as described herein. For example, thesecond sheet or web of material 102 may be constructed from paper, crepepaper, polymeric film, wax paper, paper having a shape sustaining agentor lacquer applied to at least a portion of one surface thereof, foil,metallized film, cloth, burlap and any combination or laminationthereof.

The first sheet or web of material 100 contains a hygroscopic agent 112which is activated by exposure to moisture, wherein the hygroscopicagent 112 expands upon exposure to moisture and thereby imparts a curlto the first sheet or web of material 100 and thus to the sheet or webof laminated material 90 formed therefrom and/or to the strands ofdecorative grass cut from the sheet or web of laminated material 90. Thehygroscopic agent 112 may be incorporated in the first sheet or web ofmaterial 100 upon formation of the first sheet or web of material 100,or the hygroscopic agent 112 may be applied to at least a portion of oneof the upper and lower surfaces 104 and 106 of the first sheet or web ofmaterial 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the hygroscopic agent 112is incorporated in a lacquer, such as an acrylic lacquer 114, which isapplied to at least a portion of the upper surface 104 of the firstsheet or web of material 100.

The term “hygroscopic agent” as used herein will be understood to referto any material which can be applied to or incorporated in a sheet orweb of material or a lacquer applied to the sheet or web of material andwhich expands or swells upon exposure to moisture. Many types ofhygroscopic agents are known to those of ordinary skill in the art andcould be utilized in the manner described herein. In particular, gelatinand pectin have been utilized as hygroscopic agents in the mannerdescribed herein; however, the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s) is not limited to the use of such compounds as hygroscopicagents.

The sheet or web of laminated material 90 may be shredded or cut toproduce decorative grass wherein the individual strands of decorativegrass are provided with a substantially linear, flat configuration. Thestrands of decorative grass may be packaged, stored, shipped anddisplayed in such a substantially linear, flat configuration, allowingthe consumer to curl the decorative grass at the point of sale and/oruse by exposing the strands of decorative grass to moisture. In thismanner, the substantially flat, individual strands of decorative grassare more easily separated by the consumer than strands of decorativegrass having curled or crimped configurations which are intertwined in acohesive mass. In addition, such method allows for easy removal of aportion of the stands of decorative grass and easy storage of theremaining portion of the decorative grass for future use. However, it isto be understood that the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s) is not limited to curling the decorative grass at the pointof sale or the point of use, and decorative grass formed as describedabove may be curled at the point of production, if desired.

Optionally, the sheet or web of laminated material 90 may be curled byexposure to moisture prior to cutting or shredding to form decorativegrass. Shown in FIG. 10 is the sheet or web of laminated material 90which has been exposed to moisture, and therefore a curl has been formedalong the length 96 thereof. Following curling of the sheet or web oflaminated material 90, the curled sheet or web of laminated material 90and/or the strands of decorative grass formed therefrom may be retainedin a constrained manner as described in detail hereinabove whichprovides a substantially flat configuration thereto until suchconstraints are removed, thereby allowing the sheet or web of laminatedmaterial 90 or the strands of decorative grass formed therefrom toassume the relaxed, curled configuration.

In addition, while it is described and illustrated herein that the sheetor web of laminated material 90, and therefore the strands of decorativegrass formed therefrom, is provided with a curl along the length 96thereof, it is to be understood that the sheet or web of laminatedmaterial 90, as well as the strands of decorative grass formedtherefrom, may be provided with a curl along the width 98 thereof, orthe curl may be disposed diagonally and span both the length 96 andwidth 98 thereof.

Such strands of decorative grass may also be attached to an attachmentpoint, as described in detail herein below. By providing an attachmentpoint of the same material or dissimilar material to the individualstrands of decorative grass, the strands of decorative grass can bemanipulated in an easier manner, by holding the individual strands ofdecorative grass in the same manner and in substantially the sameconfiguration and by preventing unwanted intertwining and comingling ofthe individual strands of decorative grass.

It is to be understood that the presently disclosed and claimedinventive concept(s) is not limited to the use of laminated materialswhen heat shrinkable and hygroscopic materials are utilized asactivatable curling agents. For example, the decorative grass may beformed of an unlaminated sheet or web of material having a lacquercontaining a hygroscopic agent disposed on at least a portion of onesurface thereof. In a further alternative, a sheet or web of heatshrinkable material may be formed by extruding with a multiple extruderinto the same die or into different dies two resins that contract at adifferent rate when heated or exposed to moisture. In yet anotheralternative, a sheet or web of heat shrinkable material may be formed byextruding through a multiple screw extruder or through multipleextruders by placing resin into the same die or into multiple diesdifferent melt temperature webs and pulling the material away from thedie after one of the webs has partially or completely solidified,thereby imparting stress or stretch in one of the webs which is a lesseramount of stretch than in the other web. Optionally, the beforedescribed method may be utilized with the stretch occurring after bothwebs have solidified. Any of the above described methods may be utilizedwherein one web is mated to the other web within the flow of resinoccurring at an angle to the first web, thereby imparting a differentialcontraction level at an angle to the machine direction, therebyfacilitating production of helically curled strands of decorative grass.In addition, any of the above described methods may be utilized togetherand alternated so as to cause varying curls in the same strand ordifferent strands of decorative grass cut from the same web.

Another method of causing a sheet or web of material from whichdecorative grass is produced to curl involves co-extruding a shrinkablematerial with a non-shrinkable material and heating them subsequently.Such method may be used in conjunction with pre-stretching the film ator after the time of extrusion. Indeed, any of the methods describedherein which include the use of heat shrinkable materials may also becombined with the method of pre-stretching the sheet or web of materialfrom which the decorative grass is produced.

In addition, it is also to be understood that the presently disclosedand claimed inventive concept(s) is not limited to the use of heatshrinkable and hygroscopic materials as activatable curling agents whichallow the decorative grass to be curled upon activation. The presentlydisclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) also envisions otheractivatable curling agents, such as the use of chemicals which will curlthe decorative grass upon treatment with solvents or other chemicals, aswell as other methods of incorporating activatable curling agents whichare known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Another method of curling the decorative grass at the point of sale orthe point of use involves simply stretching the strands of decorativegrass to impart a curled configuration thereto.

While methods of providing decorative grass with a curled configurationhave been described herein, all of the above described methods can beused to provide decorative grass with configurations other than curls.For example, rather than applying differentially expanding orcontracting materials in an overall or uniform manner, such materialsmay be applied in a manner which allows the contracting or expandingmaterial to be applied at only certain points, or such materials may beapplied at differential thicknesses at different points, or, in the caseof the hygroscopic materials, such materials may be applied withbarriers to moisture absorption at certain points. Application of suchmaterials in the above described methods results in differential foldingof the strands of decorative grass, and rather than having a curl ofroughly smooth and uniform dimensions, a crimped material or acombination of crimped and curled material could be achieved.

Additionally in lieu of applying the above-noted expanding orcontracting materials to a sheet or web of material in the form ofstrips, such materials could be applied in any shape, such as a circle,so that when contraction occurs, a three dimensional configuration wouldbe formed which could serve decorative and/or cushioning and/orinsulating purposes.

In a further alternative, the strands of decorative grass need not becurled solely in a concentric or torsion spring manner or in a helicalor bed spring-type manner, resulting from differential contraction orexpansion across the length of the strands, but such strands could alsobe curled or curved due to differential contraction or expansion acrossthe width of the strand.

Description of FIGS. 11-12B

Several methods of shredding a sheet or web of material to producedecorative grass or other decorative elements are known in the art andmay be utilized to produce the decorative grass of the presentlydisclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) from the sheets or webs ofmaterial described herein. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,286, whichhas previously been incorporated herein by reference, discloses methodsand apparatus for producing decorative grass and decorative elementssuch as glitter, and such methods may be utilized to cut the sheets orwebs of material described herein to produce the decorative grass of thepresently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s). In addition, anyof the methods known in the art may be utilized to shred the sheet orweb of material parallel to a stretch, curl or crimp disposed therein,or perpendicular to the stretch, curl or crimp, or at an angle to thestretch, curl or crimp.

Optionally, shown in FIGS. 11 and 11A is a system 150 for producingdecorative grass in accordance with the presently disclosed and claimedinventive concept(s). The system 150 is a rotary knife-type shredderassembly and includes a first set of blades 152 and a second set ofblades 154. The first set of blades 152 is disposed on a first mandrel156 and the second set of blades 154 is disposed on a second mandrel158. Each individual blade of the first set of blades 152 has a firstside 153 and a second side 155, while each individual blade of thesecond set of blades 154 has a first side 157 and a second side 159.

When the first mandrel 156 is rotated in a direction 160 while thesecond mandrel 158 is rotated in a direction 162, as illustrated in FIG.11, the first and second set of blades 152 and 154 overlap such that thesecond side 155 of each individual blade of the first set of blades 152is in contact with the first side 157 of an individual blade of thesecond set of blades 154 (FIG. 11A), and a sheet or web of material,such as one of the sheets or webs of laminated material 10, 50, 70 or 90described herein above (the sheet or web of material 10 shown in FIG. 11for illustration purposes only), is passed in between the first andsecond set of blades 152 and 154, thereby resulting in shredding of thesheet or web of material to form individual strands of decorative grass164. The individual blades of the first and second set of blades 152 and154 are positioned at a certain distance away from one another, and agap 166 formed by this distance determines the width of the individualstrands of decorative grass 164.

The system 150 can be employed to cut sheets of material so as toproduce strands of decorative grass 164 having a predetermined lengthbased on the length of the sheet of material, or the system 150 can beemployed to cut rolls of material to form a shredded roll of material,in which case the individual strands of decorative grass 164 having adesired predetermined length would have to be cut from the shredded rollof material subsequent to the shredding process. Such a method ofshredding a web or roll of material and subsequently cutting theshredded roll of material into individual strands of decorative grasshas been disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 09/586,901, which has previouslybeen expressly incorporated herein by reference. Other methods ofshredding a web or roll of material and subsequently cutting theshredded web or roll of material into individual strands of decorativegrass are known in the art and may be utilized in accordance with thepresently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s).

Shown in FIGS. 12 and 12A is a system 150 for producing decorative grass150 a. The system 150 a is similar to the system 150 described hereinabove, except that the system 150 a has been adapted so as to leaveuncut areas in the sheet or web of material passed through the system150 a which serve as an attached point for the strands of decorativegrass. The system 150 a includes a first set of blades 152 a disposed ona first mandrel 156 a and a second set of blades 154 a disposed on asecond mandrel 158 a. When the first mandrel 156 a is rotated in adirection 160 a and the second mandrel 158 a is rotated in a direction162 a, the blades of the first and second set of blades 152 a and 154 aoverlap and touch with side pressure, and a gap 166 a between individualblades of the first and second set of blades 152 a and 154 a (FIG. 12A)determine the width of individual strands of decorative grass 164 aformed from a sheet or web of material (the sheet or web of material 10illustrated in FIG. 12 for illustration purposes only) passed betweenthe first and second set of blades 152 a and 154 a of the system forproducing decorative grass 150 a. In addition, the first mandrel 156 amoves up and down at an angle, as indicated by an arrow 168 in FIG. 12A,thereby allowing the first set of blades 152 a to engage and disengagethe second set of blades 154 a. When the first set of blades 152 adisengage the second set of blades 154 a, an attachment area or header170 (FIG. 12B) is formed in which the individual strands of decorativegrass 164 a are connected. Shown in FIG. 12B is a group of individualstrands of decorative grass 164 a produced from the system 150 a,wherein the individual strands of decorative grass 164 a are connectedto each other via the attachment area or header 170. The length of thesheet or web of material which passes through the system 150 a while thefirst mandrel 156 a is raised and the first and second set of blades 152a and 154 a are disengaged determines the length of the attachment areaor header 170 to which the strands of decorative grass 164 a areattached.

Description of FIGS. 13-19

Shown in FIG. 13 is another system 180 for producing decorative grass180 in accordance with the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s). The system 180 is a rotary knife-type shredder which has afirst set of blades 182 and a second set of blades 184. As shown in FIG.13A, each individual blade of the first set of blades 182 has a firstside 186 and a second side 188; and each individual blade of the secondset of blades 184 has a first side 190 and a second side 192. The firstset of blades 182 is disposed on a first mandrel 194 while the secondset of blades 184 is disposed on a second mandrel 196. When the firstmandrel 194 is rotated in a direction 198 and the second mandrel 196 isrotated in a direction 200, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the first andsecond set of blades 182 and 184 overlap, substantially as shown in FIG.13A, such that the first side 186 of an individual blade of the firstset of blades 182 touches the second side 192 of an individual blade ofthe second set of blades 182, while the second side 188 of an individualblade of the first set of blades 182 touches the first side 190 of anindividual blade of the second set of blades 184.

A sheet or web of material, such as one of the sheets or webs oflaminated material 10, 50, 70 or 90 described herein above (the sheet orweb of laminated material 10 shown in FIG. 13 for illustration purposesonly) may be passed between the overlapping region of the first andsecond set of blades 182 and 184, resulting in shredding of the sheet orweb of laminated material 10 to form individual strands of decorativegrass 202.

The individual blades of the first set of blades 182 are provided with awidth 204, and the individual blades of the second set of blades 184 areprovided with a width 206, and the widths 204 and 206 are substantiallythe same. The widths 204 and 206 determine the width of the individualstrands of decorative grass 202.

The system 180 can cut sheets of material so as to produce strands ofdecorative grass 202 having a predetermined length based on the lengthof the sheet of material, or the system 180 can cut rolls of material toform a shredded roll of material, in which case the individual strandsof decorative grass 202 having a desired predetermined length would haveto be cut from the shredded roll of material subsequent to the shreddingprocess. Such a method of shredding a web or roll of material andsubsequently cutting into individual strands of decorative grass hasbeen disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 09/586,901, which has previously beenexpressly incorporated herein by reference. Other methods of shredding aweb or roll of material and subsequently cutting into individual strandsof decorative grass are known in the art and may be utilized inaccordance with the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s).

Shown in FIGS. 14 and 14A is a system 180 a for producing decorativegrass in accordance with the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s). The system 180 a is similar to the system 180 describedherein above, except that the system 180 a has been adapted so as toleave uncut areas in the sheet or web of material passed there throughwhich serve as attachment area or a header for the strands of decorativegrass. The system 180 a includes a first set of blades 182 a disposed ona first mandrel 194 a and a second set of blades 184 a disposed on asecond mandrel 196 a. As shown in FIG. 14A, each individual blade of thefirst set of blades 182 a has a first side 186 a and a second side 188a; and each individual blade of the second set of blades 184 a has afirst side 190 a and a second side 192 a. When the first mandrel 194 ais rotated in a direction 198 a and the second mandrel 196 a is rotatedin a direction 200 a, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the first and secondset of blades 182 a and 184 a overlap, substantially as shown in FIG.14A. Thus, the first side 186 a of an individual blade of the first setof blades 182 a touches the second side 192 a of an individual blade ofthe second set of blades 184 a, while the second side 188 a of anindividual blade of the first set of blades 182 a touches the first side190 a of an individual blade of the second set of blades 184 a.

A sheet or web of material, such as the sheet or web of laminatedmaterial 10 shown in FIG. 14 for illustration purposes only, may bepassed between the overlapping region of the first and second set ofblades 182 a and 184 a, resulting in shredding of the sheet or web oflaminated material 10 to form individual strands of decorative grass 202a.

The individual blades of the first set of blades 182 a are provided witha width 204 a, and the individual blades of the second set of blades 184a are provided with a width 206 a, and the widths 204 a and 206 a aresubstantially the same. The widths 204 a and 206 a determine the widthof the individual strands of decorative grass 202 a.

In the system 180 a, the first set of blades 182 a is provided with aradius notch 208. Upon rotation of the first mandrel 194 a in thedirection 198 a and the second mandrel 196 a in the direction 200 a, theregion of the first set of blades 182 a containing the radius notch 208does not contact a sheet or web of material (such as the sheet or web oflaminated material 10 shown in FIG. 14), and therefore the sheet or webof material which passes through the system 180 a between the second setof blades 184 a and the radius notch 208 of the first set of blades 182a is not cut but rather is left intact to form an attachment area orheader 210 to which the individual strands of decorative grass 202 apreviously cut from the sheet or web of material are connected. Shown inFIG. 14B is a group of individual strands of decorative grass 202 aproduced from the system 180 a in which the individual strands ofdecorative grass 202 a are connected to each other via the attachmentarea or header 210.

Shown in FIGS. 15-19 are various stages of the system 180 a forproducing decorative grass. Shown in FIG. 14 is the initial contactbetween the radius notch 208 of the first set of blades 182 a and thesecond set of blades 184 a. In FIG. 15, a first portion of the radiusnotch 208 of the first set of blades 182 a is in contact with the secondset of blades 184 a such that the sheet or web of material 10 passedtherebetween is not being split but rather is forming a lower portion ofthe attachment area or header 210. In FIG. 16, the radius notch 208 ofthe first set of blades 182 a is in contact with the second set ofblades 184 a such that the sheet or web of material 10 passedtherebetween is forming the attachment area or header 210. In FIG. 17, aportion of the radius notch 208 of the first set of blades 182 a isstill in contact with the second set of blades 184 a and forming anupper portion of the attachment area or header 210, while anotherportion of the first set of blades 182 a is contacting the second set ofblades 184 a such that the sheet or web of material 10 passed betweenthis connection is cut to release the strands of decorative grass 202 ahaving the attachment area or header 210 connected thereto, and theportion of the sheet or web of material 10 is then again being shreddedto form another section of individual strands of decorative grass 202 a.As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the radius notch 208 of the first set ofblades 182 a moves beyond the second set of blades 184 a such that theconnection between the first and second set of blades 182 a and 184 a isblade-to-blade, as shown in FIG. 14A. It is important to note in FIGS.15-19 that the first set of blades 182 a never totally disengages thesecond set of blades 184 a.

Description of FIGS. 20-20A

Shown in FIG. 20 is a system 220 for producing decorative grass inaccordance with the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s). The system 220 is a score cutting-style arrangementshredding process. The system 220 includes a set of blades 222 disposedon a blade mandrel 224, and a hardened mandrel 226, which is made of asubstantially shape sustaining material. The set of blades 222 disposedon the blade mandrel 224 are in downward physical contact with thehardened mandrel 226. A sheet or web of material, such as the sheet orweb of laminated material 10 shown in FIG. 20 for purposes ofillustration only, is passed between the blade mandrel 224 and thehardened mandrel 226, and when the blade mandrel 224 is rotated in adirection 228 and the hardened mandrel 226 is rotated in a direction230, the sheet or web of material comes into contact with the set ofblades 222 and is shredded to form individual strands of decorativegrass 232. The individual blades of the set of blades 222 are disposedat a distance 234 from each other, and the distance 234 determines thewidth of the individual strands of decorative grass 232.

The system 220 can produce individual strands of decorative grass 232from sheets of material wherein the strands of decorative grass 232 havea predetermined length based on the length of the sheet of material, orthe system 220 can cut rolls of material to form a shredded roll ofmaterial, in which case the individual strands of decorative grass 232having a desired predetermined length would have to be cut from theshredded roll of material subsequent to the shredding process. Such amethod of shredding a web or roll of material and subsequently cuttinginto individual strands of decorative grass has been disclosed in U.S.Ser. No. 09/586,901, which has previously been incorporated by referenceherein. Other methods of shredding a web or roll of material andsubsequently cutting into individual strands of decorative grass areknown in the art and may be utilized in accordance with the presentlydisclosed and claimed inventive concept(s).

Description of FIGS. 21-21B

Shown in FIGS. 21 and 21A is a system 220 a for producing decorativegrass in accordance with the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s). The system 220 a is similar to the system 220 describedherein above, except that the system 220 a has been adapted so as toleave uncut areas in the sheet or web of material passed there throughwhich serves as an attachment area for the strands of decorative grass.The system 220 a includes a set of blades 222 a disposed on a blademandrel 224 a, and a hardened mandrel 226 a, which is made of asubstantially shape sustaining material. The set of blades 222 adisposed on the blade mandrel 224 a are in downward physical contactwith the hardened mandrel 226 a. A sheet or web of material, such as thesheet or web of laminated material 10 shown in FIG. 21 for purposes ofillustration only, is passed between the blade mandrel 224 a and thehardened mandrel 226 a, and when the blade mandrel 224 a is rotated in adirection 228 a and the hardened mandrel 226 a is rotated in a direction230 a, the sheet or web of material 10 comes into contact with the setof blades 222 a and is shredded to form individual strands of decorativegrass 232 a. The individual blades of the set of blades 222 a aredisposed at a distance 234 a from each other, and the distance 234 adetermines the width of the individual strands of decorative grass 232a.

In addition, the blade mandrel 224 a moves up and down off of thehardened mandrel 226 a by use of an air cylinder or cam in thedirections indicated by an arrow 236 (FIG. 21A), thereby raising the setof blades 222 a out of contact with the hardened mandrel 226 a and thusthe sheet or web of material 10 passed between the blade mandrel 224 aand the hardened mandrel 226 a. When the blade mandrel 224 a is moved inan upward direction as indicated by the arrow 236 such that the set ofblades 222 a disengage the hardened mandrel 226 a, an attachment area orheader 238 (FIG. 21B) is formed in which the individual strands ofdecorative grass 232 a are connected. Shown in FIG. 21B is a group ofindividual strands of decorative grass 232 a produced from the system220 a wherein the individual strands of decorative grass 232 a areconnected to each other via the attachment area or header 238. Thelength of the sheet or web of material which passes through the systemfor producing decorative grass 220 a while the blade mandrel 224 a israised in the direction indicated by the arrow 236, so as to disengagethe set of blades 222 a from the hardened mandrel 226 a determines thelength of the attachment area or header 238 to which the strands ofdecorative grass 232 a are attached.

Description of FIGS. 22 and 23

Shown in FIG. 22 are two sheets of curlable segments of decorative grass250. The two sheets of curlable segments of decorative grass 250 aresubstantially normally disposed relative to one another; and each sheetof curlable segment of decorative grass 250 has a plurality ofindividual segments 252 connected to an attachment area or header 254.The sheets of curlable decorative grass 250 can be fabricated of any ofthe materials herein before described so that a curl can be imparted tothe sheets of curlable decorative grass 250 at or near the point of saleor use of one or more sheets of curlable decorative grass 250. Anymethod for imparting a curl to the segments 250 of the curlable sheetsof curlable decorative grass 250 herein before described can be employedand the particular method chosen will be determined by the end user.However, it should be understood that the method for imparting a curl tothe segments 250 is not limited to the methods described herein, butinclude any method and/or apparatus known within the art. For example,the methods and apparatus for providing a curl to the segment 250 or toany sheet and/or web of material hereinbefore or hereinafter describedinclude the methods and apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,436,324B1, entitled “Method for Making Curled Decorative Grass,” issued toWeder et al on Aug. 20, 2002, the entire contents of which is herebyexpressly incorporated herein by reference.

While only two sheets of curlable decorative grass 250 have been shown,it should be understood that additional sheets of curlable decorativegrass 250 can be employed to form a start of sheets of curlabledecorative grass, and that each of the sheets and curlable decorativegrass 250 has been shown as a single sheet or layer, laminates can alsobe employed as the sheet of curlable decorative grass 250.

Shown in FIG. 23 are two sheets of decorative grass 260 wherein adistortion, such as a curl, has been imparted to each of the sheets ofthe decorative grass 260. It should be noted that while the distortionhas been shown as a curl, the distortion may be a crimp and/or a crimpand a curl as herein before described. The two sheets of decorativegrass 260 are substantially normally disposed relative to one another;and each sheet of decorative grass 260 has a plurality of segments 262connected to an attachment area or header 264. The sheets of decorativegrass 260 can be fabricated of any of the materials herein beforedescribed; and as previously stated, the distortion can be formedutilizing any method herein before described or known and can includecurls having various configurations, crimps and combination of curls andcrimps, included but not limited to the methods and apparatus disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 6,436,324 B1 which has been previously incorporatedherein by reference. The segments 262 of each of the sheets ofdecorative grass 260 are desirably retained in a substantially flattenedcondition prior to use at or near the point of sale. To ensure that thesegments 262 of each of the sheets of decorative grass 260 aremaintained in a substantially flat condition prior to use and/or sale,the sheets of decorative grass 260 may be disposed in a bag or packageof sufficient rigidity which is sized to retain the sheets of decorativegrass in a substantially flat configuration, thus preventing thesegments 262 of the sheets of decorative grass 260 from curling or beingdistorted prior to use and/or sale.

Description of FIG. 24

Referring now to FIG. 24 shown therein is a cutaway perspective view ofa package 270 containing a plurality of sheets 271 which have been atleast partially cut to provide side by side strips 272 which can becurled to form curled decorative grass. The package 270 includes anenclosure or box 273 having an opening 274 near one end 275 thereof anda curling tool 276 disposed within or aligned with the opening 274 suchthat upon pulling one of the sheets 271 from the package 270 and drawingthe sheet 271 over the curling tool 276, a curl is imparted to thestrips 272 of the sheets 271 at or near the point of use or sale of oneor more of the sheets 271. While the package 270 is shown as being asubstantially rectangular shaped enclosure 273 sized and configured tocontain a plurality of sheets 271, it should be understood that thepackage 270 can be provided with any suitable configuration as long asit is capable of containing the sheets, such as the sheets 271.

The sheets 271, in addition to the plurality of side by side strips 272include an attachment area or header 278 to which the strips 272 areconnected. It should be noted that while the enclosure 270 has beenshown as containing a plurality of sheets 271, individual strips whichcan be curled by pulling over the curling tool 276 to impart the desiredcurl thereto can be stored within the enclosure 273, and the package 270may include a roll of material (not shown) formed of a plurality of sideby side strips. When using a roll of material, a predetermined amount ofa material is unrolled and passed over the curling tool 276. The curledstrips of material are then severed from the roll of material by anyconventional cutting element, such as scissors, a cutting edge and thelike.

The material from which the sheets are fabricated can be any of thematerials herein before described, including laminates thereof.Similarly, the curling tool can be any curling tool well known in theart and can be a single bar curling tool, a multiple bar curling tooland the like. The configuration of the curling tool, as well as thenumber of curling tools employed will vary depending upon the particularconfiguration of curl imparted to the sheet of material and the and/orstrips.

While the curling tool 276 has been shown as being incorporated into thepackage 270 (FIG. 24), it should be understood that the curling tool 276assembly can be located separate of the package 270, in which case thecurling tool will desirably be positioned near the point of sale and/oruse of the decorative grass.

Several prior art methods and apparatus can be employed for providing acurl or a crimp to the sheet or strand of decorative grass. An exampleof such a method and apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,286,and U.S. Pat. No. 6,436,324, each of which has previously beenincorporated herein by reference. However, is to be understood that themethod and apparatus for imparting a curl to sheet of decorative grassis not limited to the use of such methods and apparatus, and any methodknown in the art for providing a curl and/or crimp to a sheet or strandof material may be utilized in accordance with the presently disclosedand claimed inventive concept(s) for imparting a curl and/or crimp to asheet or strand of material removed from a package.

It is to be understood that any method of forming the decorative grassof the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s), such as thesystems for producing decorative grass described herein as well as anymethod known in the art, could be performed in line with an extrusionoperation using razor blades or any other cutting method, shredding inwider strips and stretching these strips to form narrower and thinnerstrips.

As stated above, the sheet or web of material from which the decorativegrass is produced may be provided in a substantially flat configurationand cut or shredded to produce strands of decorative grass having asubstantially flat configuration, or the sheet or web of material fromwhich the decorative grass is produced may be curled prior to cutting.The sheet or web of material may be placed under stress, causing thesheet or web of material to temporarily assume a substantially flatconfiguration, and upon shredding, the strands of decorative grassformed therefrom may be retained in the substantially flat configurationuntil curling or crimping is desired, or the strands of decorative grasscut from the sheet or web of material may be allowed to curl or crimpupon shredding from the sheet or web of material. In a third option, thesheet or web of material may be curled and cut or shredded in such acurled or crimped configuration. The strands of decorative grass formedtherefrom may then be exposed to sufficient pressure to cause thestrands of decorative grass to assume a substantially flat configurationuntil crimping or curling is desired, at which time the strands ofdecorative grass are released from such pressure and allowed to relaxand curl or crimp. Any of the above described embodiments may also beemployed with strands of decorative grass attached at an attachment areaor header.

Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the variouscomponents, elements and assemblies described herein or in the steps orthe sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the inventive concept(s) as defined in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A packaging of curlable decorative grass,comprising: a package having a retaining space; one or more layers ofcurlable segments of decorative grass disposed in the retaining space ofthe package; a curling tool having at least one curling surface; andwherein when the one or more layers of curlable segments of decorativegrass and the curling tool are frictionally engaged, the curling toolcurls the one or more layers of curlable segments of decorative grass.2. The packaging of claim 1, wherein the curling tool is a plate, aplate with an aperture, a bar, a wire, a blade, a chemically impregnatedsponge, a water impregnated sponge, a heated surface, a cooled surface,a rotating cylinder, or combinations thereof.
 3. The packaging of claim1, wherein the one or more layers of curlable segments of decorativegrass is further defined as paired layers of curlable segments ofdecorative grass, wherein a first layer of the pair is disposed in analternate direction to a second layer of the pair.
 4. The packaging ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more layers of curlable segments ofdecorative grass is further defined as comprising: a first layer ofcurled segments of decorative grass, the curled segments laid side byside in a flattened configuration; a second layer of curled segments ofdecorative grass, the curled segments laid side by side in a flattenedconfiguration; and wherein the first layer is crosslaid on the secondlayer so that the curled segments of the first layer are substantiallyperpendicular to the curled segments of the second layer.
 5. Thepackaging of claim 4, wherein each of the layers has a header to whichall the curled segments of decorative grass of that layer are connected.6. The packaging of claim 4, wherein the curled segments of decorativegrass of any layer are unconnected to adjacent segments of the samelayer or to the segments of any adjacent layer.
 7. The packaging ofclaim 4, wherein the first and second layers face each other so that thecurling action of the first layer curls into the curling action of thesecond layer.
 8. A kit for producing curled decorative grass at a pointof sale and/or use, the kit comprising: an enclosure containing aplurality of sheets or a web of material capable of having a curlimparted thereto, the enclosure having an opening therein for permittingremoval of at least one sheet at a time or at least a portion of the webof material from the enclosure, the enclosure being located at or near apoint of sale or point of use of curled decorative grass; a curling toolfor imparting a curl to the sheets or at least a portion of the web ofmaterial to provide curled sheets or a curled web material when at leastone of the sheets or at least a portion of the web of material arewithdrawn from the enclosure and brought into contact with the curlingtool at or near the point of sale or use of decorative grass; and acutting tool for cutting the curled sheets or the curled web of materialto provide curled decorative grass at or near the point of sale or useof the curled decorative grass.
 9. A method of providing a curled orcrimped decorative grass at a point of use or a point of sale, themethod comprising: forming a curl or crimp in at least one sheet or webof material at a point of sale and/or use to form a distortion in the atleast one sheet or web of material; and cutting the at least one sheetor web of material having the distortion formed therein into a pluralityof strands of decorative grass at the point of sale and/or use of thedecorative grass.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality ofstrands of curled decorative grass are held together via a header. 11.The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one sheet or web of materialis further defined as a plurality of sheets or webs of material.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the plurality of sheets or webs of materialare laminated together.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the step ofcutting the at least one sheet or web of material into a plurality ofstrands of decorative grass is further defined as cutting the at leastone sheet or web of material into a plurality of strands of decorativegrass that are connected together via a header.
 14. The method of claim9, further comprising the step of maintaining pressure on the at leastone curled sheet or web of material to maintain the curled sheet or webof material in a substantially flat configuration, and wherein thecurled sheet or web of material is maintained in the substantially flatconfiguration in the step of cutting the at least one sheet or web ofmaterial into a plurality of strands of decorative grass at the point ofsale and/or use of the decorative grass.